2011-04-15

[Random Pics #2]- MAC Lipsticks (The plums, reds and bright pinks)

I'm on a picture kick for now, here are other pictures of various MAC lipsticks

MAC Aristo-cat lipstick (Frost formula)









MAC Courting Lilac Lipstick (Glaze Formula)



MAC Full Fuchsia Lipstick (Amplified Creme Formula)





MAC Something New Lipstick




[Random Pics #1]- MAC Lipsticks (The soft pinks, peaches and nudes)

It's really quite difficult for me to find time to do swatches and proper reviews, so I'll start a series of just random makeup pictures, each time with a different theme!

MAC All Styled Up Lipstick (Cremesheen formula)



MAC Cut A Caper Lipstick (Lustre Formula)




MAC Equality Lipstick ( Lustre Formula)


MAC Of Royalty Lipstick (Cremesheen formula)



MAC Out Minxed Lipstick (Glaze Formula)





RMK Nail Color EX - P17 Cherry

RMK released its new nail color range in 2010- with easily about 30 colors, and since then each seasonal collection also features specially limited edition nailpoilsh shades. (if it's limited edition it will have an "EX" in front of the number code).

P17's "P" denotes for Pearl finish I think, there's also other various finishes like creme and metallic and Holographic (which isn't really holographic but more like a shimmer).

P17 Cherry- as the name suggest (RMK is generally true to color names) - is a brightening (without being too bright and garish) summery cherry splash of red. It's looks really juicy and clean on the nails.

I know it shows like there's some flecks of shimmer, I think they are really subtle silver flecks, so on the nails you cant really see obvious shimmers- it's more there to make sure the red is not just a flat color. You have to look really close to my nails to see any trace of the silver shimmer.



It's 12ml, RRP 1500 Yen. Comes in a very solid and lovely glass packaging, square base.


Sorry I only took the photos after about 3 days so it's showing some tip wear ( unfortunately seche vite topcoat is giving me a lot of shrinkage at the edge too).






The finish, consistency is comparable to OPI (I suppose it's almost as expensive too when I'm thinking about it in terms of AUD RRP price).

You can find RMK in most Asian countries like Taiwan, HK and Japan. Not sure which online stores carry this- I would guess try ebay or ichibankao.com

OPI Blushingham Palace NL B16 Nail Polish swatch/ review

OPI Blushingham Palace (Code NL B16) is from the OPI British collection.

Blushiningham Palace is a smidget deeper than what I'd call mid tone, but it's by no means dark no matter how you layer it. It's a shimmery mauve rose, the shimmers are the same color as the base.

I'm a bit underwhelmed by the shade, it's a really basic shade- the shimmery finish is also a bit plain. Would imagine this would be good to be layered under other interesting topcoats though.




Under more yellow lights:


Overall 3/5. I think it's pretty cool toned and look better on pale skin.

2011-04-08

Shu Uemura Shimmer Eye liner 01 black review/ swatch

Shu Uemura shimmer eye liner was released in 2009 I think. They don't seem to be part of the permanent line.
I got the shade in #01 Black.


It's a twist pen mechanism which will release more liner liquid when you twist the end. It is in a brush bristle tip which is somewhat firm. But the end is quite fine.


Here it is on the skin. Personally there's barely any shimmer so it's just a plain black eyeliner liquid with very few flecks of fine shimmers.


Compared to Kanebo Kate's ultra fine eyeliner below (the tube for kate is a bit battered from my handbag! lol).  The top one is Shu and bottom is kate.

Personally I tend to tightline and only need an ultra fine line, I do like lining on the top too but for both jobs, Kanebo Kate eyeliner does a much better job. I find the Shu Uemura liner just not quite black enough and hard to control the width of the eyeline on application.


Overall 3/5. Might work better for those who do a more obvious line, but I don't find it oustanding in terms of color, application or longlasting. It will smudge a bit by end of the day.


FANCL Amino Conditioner review

This is probably one of the less seen or reviewed Fancl items for sure- I think it's available at Fancl HK stores.

It's in a 200 ml  bottle, it features the similar design to normal Fancl serums etc in the pump bottle- but just way larger. The bump mechanism is very clean, and the pump mechanism fully utilises every last drop- like the internal base of the container will rise as you use the products.

Here's the back of the bottle- with Chinese additional sticker- packaging as it was from Fancl HK.


I need two pumps for my long hair (falls just below shoulder blades)- not as much as normal conditioner or hair masque which makes the size quite economical. The consistency (Forgot to photograph...) is a bit like a usual hair masque consistency, similar to Kerastase masques or Loreal masques- just a touch thicker than supermarket conditioners like Palmolives or Pantene. Instead of a runny conditioner/shampoo feel you get a whipped cream sort of easily spreadable consistency.


Amino acid is one of those ingredients often featured in conditioners- notably the Kiehl's amino acid conditioner (which I also have and use occassionally).

Here's my hair after some week or two of use- I have naturally medium strength and thickness black hair, scalp tend to turn slightly oily after 36 hrs, so I tend to wash my hair daily. Overall I have generally very healthy hair (before I started coloring my hair). You can see it makes my hair quite glossy and shiny (this is after just shampoo, conditioning and rough blowdry, no other products). If I use a bad shampoo and conditioner, my hair tends to reflect that very quickly too- it will look a bit frizzy and lacking in bounce or shine.


FYI the hair color is Liese "Ash Brown" color. It's those bubble hairdye , Liese is the equivalent in HK for Kao Japan's "Prettia" hair dye brand I think. Interestingly I've tried the Prettia "Ash brown" color too, and I like Liese better! It's quite a pretty brown- when you use 'ash brown' sort of shades on natural black hair, it is easy for the color to turn a bit orange under some lights- this Liese shade doesn't do that as much, it turns my black hair into a cool toned brown, but still work-safe color for Sydney at the end of a short summer and approaching autumn weather.


I'm using Kerastase Nutri-thermique shampoo with this Fancl conditioner. Which is really good too. Unfortunately the conditioner from the same nutri-thermnique range is quite boring and totally not worth the price. (On the other hand the nutri-thermique masque is very nice).

I also have the Kiehls' amino acid shampoo- which is more pricey especially in Australia- but I would say Kiehls is really good too if not slightly better- I like Fancl for daily use, but Kiehls is quite nice as an occassional treat along with my Kerastase hair masques.
 
Overall thumbs up for this conditioner, suitable probably for those with normal to slightly oily hair. If you hair is really dry and heavily chemically treated, I'd say try something else- e.g. Kerastase nutri-thermique or Oleo-relax hair masques.